I'd like for you to take your
Bibles this morning and turn with me to Matthew chapter 13. Last week, we talked about these
parables, these three parables that's given to us here in Matthew
13, and the fact that they were given
to describe the Kingdom of God. God's Kingdom, I suppose if you
were to define it in a general way, you would have to say that
His Kingdom is the realm of the King. Everything that's under
the power, under the wisdom and created by God Himself and by
His King. We're told in The early books
of Psalm that God set his king on his holy hill in Zion. And
that king affected nations. Nations rose up against him.
People, kings, all sorts of, rose up against him. So that
tells me that his kingdom is inclusive of all these things.
It's the realm of the king. And it's all things and everything
that's under His rule, but in particular, it has to do with
the eternal counsel and purpose of God within this kingdom. Within this realm of His majesty,
He has a people. He has a work that He's accomplishing. He's exerting a rule to an end. He doesn't just rule and then
wait on providence to unravel things. He rules with an end. He has a purpose to these things.
And He tells us in Ephesians 1.8 that He hath abounded toward
us, that is, those who believe, in all wisdom and prudence, having
made known unto us the mystery of His will according to His
good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself. that in the dispensation
of the fullness of times He might gather in one all things in Christ. Creation is in Christ, isn't
it? Without Him was not anything made that was made. Creation
is in this realm. Every man, woman, and child is
in this realm. The universe is in this realm.
And in this dispensation of the fullness of times, He's going
to gather together in one all things in Christ, both which
are in heaven and which are on earth, even in Him, in whom also
we have obtained an inheritance being predestinated according
to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel
of His own will. You see what I'm saying? God
has a kingdom, and in general, it stretches, spans the universe. Spans all ages of time. Spans
eternity. But within that, within that
realm, He has a purpose. He has an end. He has a people
and a kingdom that He'll preserve forever. And so these parables
picture that work. And the first parable, the treasure
hid in a field, has to do with God's elect hidden. They're hidden
in this world. Somebody told Brother Mayhem
one time, why don't you just preach to God's elect if you
think that's the only people that he's going to save? And
he said, well, if God will be pleased to put a mark on them,
I will. I will. But until then, I'm going to
have to preach to all men and let God sort out his elect. You
see what I'm saying? Hidden in the multitudes that
live on this earth and in all ages, there is a hidden treasure,
a people chosen of God. And Christ sees the treasure
and He buys the field. And His buying of the field does
not mean He redeemed the world, but He bought the world to redeem
His treasure out of it. He bought the right, the power,
God hath given him power over all flesh that he should give
eternal life to as many as the Father hath given him. That's
what was about to take place on Calvary when he prayed that
prayer. And now this week, I want us
to look at two more verses describing this kingdom, verses 45 and 46
here in Matthew 13, beginning with verse 45. Again, the kingdom of heaven
is like unto a merchant man seeking goodly pearls, who when he hath
found one pearl, one pearl of great price, he went and sold
all that he had and bought it. Now the parable of the pearl
of great price gives us a little different view of the kingdom
of God, and this time from the inside. That is, he shows us
from the sinner's perspective how precious, how highly esteemed
and valuable is the Lord Jesus Christ to those who discover
Him, to those who are unable to see Him, to those to whom
God reveals Him. He's precious. Unto you, therefore,
which believe, Peter said, He is precious. There's no question
about it. There's no debate about it. Well, I'm saved, but Christ's
not precious. No, you're not spitting distance
of being saved yet. Therefore, unto you that believe,
He is precious. There's no debate about that.
There's no up and down about that. He's precious. He's precious. Now, the merchant man in this
parable, he kind of describes the sinner
awakened by God's grace. I know I'm going to get some
arguments here, but it's so anyway. A man can be sensible of his
need and not be regenerated. He can be sensible of his need
and not be regenerated. Can you show me that in the Scripture?
I think I can without even turning. The Ethiopian eunuch did, didn't
he? He was awakened to his need,
but he didn't know anything. He went to Jerusalem. He went
down there to see the priesthood and went down there to hear them
read from the Word of God and had the Word of God in his possession.
But he didn't know anything. He was an unregenerate man. But
he began to seek. And the woman with the issue
of blood was, she sold all that she had. Sold
all that she had. And the man at the pool of Bethesda
was. And you can go on and on. And
the sinner, made sensible of his need, will begin to seek
a remedy. That's what's being pictured
here. This is how the merchant man is set before us in this
pearl. He's seeking goodly pearls. Now, without a lot of time to
prove my point, will you just take my word for this that pearls
in the Scripture describe spiritual light. Spiritual light. I'll give you one scripture.
Cast not your pearls before swine. Don't you take these beautiful,
precious things of Christ and cast them before a man who's
an absolute reprobate. Just don't do it. Don't do it.
Cast not your pearls before swine. This man was seeking the wisdom
of God. He was seeking spiritual light. He was seeking a remedy. Something
to satisfy his need. So he went where they're dealt
in pearls. He went where they're dealt in pearls. He went to his
local church. He went down there, had a steeple
on the front of it. It said something something church
on it. And that's where he went. Because that's where he was told
to go. They've got the pearls of wisdom. So he went down there
and he found some pearls. And he bought them. He bought
them. And each time he went, he found
some more pearls. The seeking sinner, when he first
begins, he finds a variety of things that appear to be good.
That woman with the issue of blood did. She spent all that
she had on doctors and physicians seeking a remedy. What do they
find? Well, they buy into a moral reflection. Reformation of life. They have
to turn over a new leaf. They're going to have to go a
new direction. And so they buy into that. And then they buy
into this thing of illegal righteousness. If you do this, God, that'll
make you righteous. You love your neighbors as yourself,
you do all these things, then you'll be righteous. Well, you
would if you could. If you could. They buy in, here's another pearl,
religious duties, Bible reading, church attendance and prayer,
all these things. Perhaps they made a profession
of faith or church membership or adopted some kind of a creed
or church covenant or whatever. Or maybe he bought this pearl,
this pearl of dedication and baptism, and you could go on
and on and on with the things that men seek. But he buys these
pearls because he has not yet discovered the pearl. That's
why he buys them. He's seeking a remedy and men
are saying, here's the remedy. Do this and you'll live. Do this
and you'll live. Do this and you'll live. Dress
like this and God will receive you. So on. Talk like this. Get
your hair cut. Whatever. And on and on they'll
go, deeper and deeper into the miry clay of false religion until
at last It swallows them up. Or, until in this case, God leads
him to a man who has the pearl. The pearl. Men are willing to
trade certain things for these pearls. They go down here and
they find these religious things. They're willing to trade some
things. They're willing to change some habits. They're willing
to spend a little money. He didn't get these pearls for
free. Get by. Willing to give his time. Willing
to sacrifice some worldly pleasures. He'll give according to what
he gets. That's what he'll do. If he gets a little, he'll give
a little. Gets a lot, he'll give a lot. But oh when. Or maybe I ought
to say if. If. He discovers God's pearl. Whereas Paul said to the Corinthians,
for God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness has
shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Then he'll be
willing to give all. He'll give all. Now, the Lord
Jesus Christ is beyond compare. There's nothing to compare Him
to. And so He sets Him apart here among the jewels as a pearl
of great price, a one and only kind. That's the Lord Jesus Christ. In Isaiah 40, verse 25, He says,
To whom then will you liken Me, or shall I be equal, saith the
Holy One? That's talking about Christ.
Who are you going to liken Me to? Who are you going to compare
Me to? Lift up your eyes on high and
behold who hath created these things. I am the Creator. Not anything made that was made
was made without Him. That bringeth out the host by
number, that calleth them all by names by the greatness of
His might, for that He is strong in power and not one thing faileth. He is a just God and a Savior. My friend, if you're not lost,
you won't have any interest in Him. You won't have any interest
in the way. But if you're seeking, if you're
seeking, if you're a merchant man and you're buying pearls,
I want to set before you this morning the pearl of great price.
He's the one of a kind. One of a kind. If you're not
a sinner by nature, a child of wrath, all your ways corrupt,
no goodness, none righteous, none that understandeth, hating
light, hating him who is the light, hating him who testifies
of the light. If you're not a sinner, you have
no need of a Savior. A Savior is for sinners. That's
what Christ told those Pharisees. You might as well go on back
down to the synagogue, because I'm not even talking to you.
I came into this world not to save the righteous. I didn't
come to call the righteous. I come to call sinners to repentance. You're not a sinner. You've got
no need of a Savior. Just clean up a little, and everything
will be all right. Isn't that what they tell you?
You just lack a few things. Just lack a few things. Do this
and leave. change a few habits, a little reform here and there,
buy a Bible, put it out on the coffee table so everybody comes
in knows you read your Bible, carry one in your car, get a
religious haircut, put on a religious face, everything will be all
right. Am I exaggerating the point? The more I discover my sinnerhood,
the more precious my Lord becomes to me. And the more I see of Him, the
more evil in myself I discover. Until at last I cry out with
Paul, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? I thank God, the Lord Jesus Christ."
Christ is not just a decision to a believer. Christ is all.
He's all. He's not just the answer to a
question. He's all. He's not just a temporary remedy.
He's not just medication to take away the symptoms. He's all.
Christ is all. Paul said to the believer, that
man who puts on the new man, he's renewed in knowledge after
the image of Him who created him, whether it's neither Greek,
nor Jew, or circumcision, or uncircumcision, or no barbarian,
Scythian, bond, or free, but Christ is all. And in all, when the seeking sinner finds
the sovereign Savior, when he sees the crucified Son of God
dying in the place of guilty sinners, satisfying the justice
of a holy God and fulfilling all the demands of righteousness,
giving Himself, as Hosea said, for a harlot bride, then he finds
this pearl. to be worth everything. He's
everything. In Him is life. In Him is truth. In Him is wisdom. In Him is sanctification. Everything that the sinner needs,
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily in Him. You're complete
in Him. This is the pearl. This is the
pearl. Paul tells the Corinthian church
in I Corinthians 1, I believe it's verse 30, he said, Of God
are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Why would he
do that? That according as it is written,
he that gloweth, let him glow in the Lord. Turn with me to
Philippians chapter 3. all to whom Christ is revealed
in the fullness of His grace and glory, willingly give up
all their earthly treasures. I'm going to show you that here
in Philippians chapter 3. That's what this man did. He
was seeking pearls of God's wisdom. He was seeking a remedy for his
needs. And he didn't even know what
his need was. He just knew a little bit about this need. And then
he saw the pearl. When he saw the pearl, he knew
full well, this is what I need. Oh, but this is going to cost
everything that you have. I have to have it. I have to
have Him. Philippians chapter 3, Paul said,
but what things were gained, verse 7, to me? What were these
things? What's he talking about? The
things that were gained. Well, what things are gained
to you? That's what was gained to him. He was a natural son
of Abraham. He was proud of his heritage.
He was proud of his family. Circumcision, the sign and seal
of the covenant. He had a legal righteousness.
He had a position of high honor. He had a title and a position
in the Jewish hierarchy. He had his family honor and name. He had public opinion and public
reputation. And he had monetary gain. He
was set up for life. Litvins 3 verse 7, But what things
were gained to me, these I counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all
things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and to
count them but done, that I may win Christ and be found in Him,
not having my own righteousness which is of the law, but that
which is through the faithfulness, the faith of Christ, the righteousness
which is of God by faith, that I may know Him, Now brethren,
to know Him is eternal life. That's what he says in John 17
and 1 John chapter 5. To know Him is eternal life.
Paul said that I might know Him and the power of His resurrection,
that is experientially in my heart, and the fellowship of
His sufferings being made conformable unto His death if by any means
I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I
had already attained, either were already perfect. But I follow
after, if that I might apprehend that for which also I am apprehended
of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself
to have apprehended, but this one thing I do." That's what
we're talking about this morning. This one thing I do. Getting
those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those
things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Now, the man who
discovers Christ, he turns loose of this world and its treasures
for Christ. He turns from the lust of this
flesh to Christ. He gives himself. He surrenders. You're not going to have this
pearl until you're willing to surrender yourself. To surrender yourself. This is
God's pearl. And a man or woman who is not
willing to give all cannot have the pearl. Brother Don said he
was sitting in the hospital reading a book by J.C. Ryle called The
True Christian. He was there to visit somebody.
He was out there in the waiting room, waiting on the time to
go into the intensive care to see him. You had to go in there
once an hour or so, once every half hour. He was reading this
book. And he, looking over the book,
he saw a man who was doing this. He was trying to read the title
of that book that Don was reading. And he saw it. And then after
a while, Don laid the book down in his lap. And when he did,
the man asked him this question. He said, can I ask you a question?
He said, well, I saw the title of your book there. And he said,
can you tell me this? What does it take for me to be
a true Christian? And Don answered him, and this
is what he told him. He said, nothing from you and
all of you. Nothing from you. You can't add
to this work. You can't accomplish this work.
Nothing. Nothing from you, but everything
of you. Faith in Christ is the surrendering
of ourselves to Christ. And as this parable sets before
us true saving faith, it also sets before us the false professor
of faith and the unregenerate church member. He can never truly
commit. He just can't commit. He wants
to. He talks about it, but he never
commits. He never commits. He's always
straddling the fence. He wants to wear the name of
Christ, but he don't want to carry his cross. He wants the assurance and peace
and rest of Christ, but he also wants the benefits and blessings
of this world. They can never make up their
minds to sell out for Christ. The kingdom of heaven is about
the king of glory, redeeming a people by the person and work
of Jesus Christ. And this kingdom is manifested.
Here's how it's manifested. In power. It's manifested in
the power of God's Spirit in the hearts and minds of God's
elect through the preaching of the gospel. They see the pearl. They understand what this pearl
is. They know its preciousness. They
see its glory, and they give themselves to it. You see what
he is telling us here? This is the kingdom of God. And
everything else, they see this, and everything else loses its
glitter and glamour in the light of His glory. The old hymn writer
put it this way. He said, turn your eyes upon
Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth shall
grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. That's the pearl, as best I can
tell it to you, the pearl of great price. May God give us
all the wisdom to see it and to buy it, to give ourselves
to it, for Christ's sake.